Egypt president says Israel evades Gaza ceasefire efforts

Reuters
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FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a military ceremony in the courtyard of the Hotel des Invalides in Paris

DUBAI (Reuters) - Israel continues to evade efforts to reach a ceasefire in its war with Hamas in Gaza, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country has mediated in the conflict, told Arab leaders at a summit in Manama on Thursday.

Sisi added that Israel is pursuing its military operations in Rafah, the southern border city between Egypt and Gaza, and using the city's border crossing from its Palestinian side "to tighten the siege of the enclave."

Israel and Egypt have traded blames for the responsibility of the crossing's closure, which has been a vital route for aid to the coastal territory, where a humanitarian crisis has deepened and some people are at risk of famine.

Israel said on Tuesday that it was up to Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing and allow humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip, prompting Cairo to denounce what it described as "desperate attempts" to shift blame for the blockage of aid.

"We found Israel continuing to escape its responsibilities and evade efforts exerted to reach a ceasefire," Sisi said.

"Those who think that security and military solutions are able to secure interests or achieve security (are) delusional," Sisi added.

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Michael Georgy, William Maclean)